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Vina Joins Cards As Leadoff Hitter
Trade For Acevedo Is Complete After 2B Passes Physical
Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch
December 21, 1999
The top of the Cardinals' lineup is set. Fernando Vina, acquired from Milwaukee Monday for righthander Juan Acevedo and two minor-league players to be named, will be the leadoff hitter next season.
"He's a legitimitate top-of-the-lineup guy," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.
Vina played in only 37 games last season, hitting .266 with one home run in 154 at-bats. Vina, a contact hitter with a good eye, drew 14 walks against just six strikeouts, showing signs of his 1998 All-Star season in which he hit .311 with an on-base percentage of .386.
Additionally, Vina is regarded as a premier pivot on double plays, although the Cardinals were fourth in the National League this season at turning double plays.
Vina was in St. Louis on Sunday and Monday, undergoing an exam on his left leg. He suffered a bruised quadriceps in a collision last year, and the injury spread to the knee. But he passed the physical without incident.
"I'm finally going somewhere where they want me," Vina told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I've talked to (Cardinals general manager) Walt Jocketty and he said he considered me the final piece of the puzzle.
"Just to be part of this organization and this fan base, I guarantee you I'm going to play hard and give it everything I have."
With Acevedo gone, the Cardinals are left with one starting position among Garrett Stepehenson, Mark Thompson and Alan Benes, who has missed nearly two seasons after shoulder surgery.
"We all know Alan Benes," La Russa said. "If he's himself, there's no competition. But we want to be really careful. We've got guys like Stepehenson and Thompson."
As for the rest of the players who would have been involved at second base, La Russa said, in reference to Joe McEwing and Craig Paquette, "It frees those two to play all over the ball park every day."
In the case of Placido Polanco, La Russa said he could be a backup at shortstop. Adam Kennedy, the top draft choice in 1997, played second base at the end of the 1999 season. La Russa said he hopes to look at Kennedy as a right fielder in spring training or send him down for more seasoning as a potential utility player.
Jocketty suggested Monday night that Kennedy could start the season in Class AAA.
Jocketty, with some money available, also said he was pursuing free-agent pitchers Darren Oliver and Andy Benes, both former Cardinals, with Oliver going 9-9 this season for the club. Jocketty said he still was hopeful of acquiring Oliver, especially on a contract that would be back-loaded.
Vina, who will part of the strongest infield in the league, said, "I'm looking forward to that. Edgar Renteria is a great shortstop. And I'm next to one of the greatest home run hitters of all time (Mark McGwire).
"If I get on base, I'm going to score a lot of runs. But I'm going to have to work on my 'abs' if I'm going to take that punch to the gut."
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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